Good Morning
by themidnightstar
Summary: A typical morning for Sheriff Jack Carter in 4 brief parts. Contains spoilers for Once In a Lifetime Season 1 Finale. JackAllison
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Good Morning  
**Fandom:** Eureka  
**Summary:** A typical morning for Sheriff Jack Carter (in 4 parts)  
**Rating:** PG  
**Pairings: **Jack/Allison  
**Spoilers: **Once In a Lifetime (Season 1 Finale)

"Good morning, Jack," a soothing voice crooned. Jack's dream about Zoe's graduation broke and scattered, leaving afterimages to dance behind his eyelids.

"Good morning, Sarah," he replied automatically without opening his eyes.

"It's 7:00 am," SARAH said in a patient tone.

Jack scrubbed a hand over his face, but kept his eyes closed in case the dream decided to return. "Ten more minutes," he answered. It was a routine he and SARAH went through every morning, and he could literally do it in his sleep.

Jack's memories from an alternate timeline had faded surprisingly quickly. He still remembered the broad strokes, but had lost most of the details. He knew he'd been married to Allison in an alternate reality, but he couldn't remember proposing. He couldn't remember asking her out for their first date. Where had they gone? What had they talked about? That kind of insider information might have been helpful in this reality. But no, he had to remember that she liked to make love by candlelight. Not exactly first date conversation material.

The temptation to write everything down had been huge. But nothing good could come from it. If events played out the same way as before, it would be joyless and predictable. If things changed, it would be heartbreaking because he'd loved that alternate reality and it hurt to watch it slip away. He didn't want to end up like Jimmy Stewart's character in the movie _Vertigo_, so infatuated with his lost love that he was obsessively driven to relive what he'd lost. He didn't want to become like that– tormenting the people he loved in this reality for not being exactly the way they were in the other reality.

With a sigh, Jack climbed out of bed and stumbled toward the sonic shower. And if it felt a little lonely, getting ready for work without the gentle teasing and playful bickering he'd enjoyed with Allison, he refused to acknowledge it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Good morning!" a cheerful voice sang out from behind him. A moment later, two arms wrapped around Jack from behind in a vigorous hug.

Touched by the uncharacteristic outburst of affection, he smiled and patted Zoe's arm before letting her step away. As he watched his teenaged daughter happily bound past him toward the refrigerator, he resumed eating his breakfast and patiently waited for the other shoe to drop.

Zoe took a deep breath. "So, um…Dad…"

"Uh-huh, here it comes," Jack muttered. He suspected there was an ulterior motive behind Zoe's sunny disposition.

"…there's this concert on Saturday and…"

Jack listened with one ear while racking his brain for the reason why his answer should be no. It sounded harmless enough. The concert wasn't on a school night, the venue was less than 20 miles away, and the friends she would be going with were classmates he'd met before. Still, her behavior made clear that she expected this to be a hard sell.

"Hang on!" he interrupted as the answer came to him in a flash. "You're still grounded."

Her disgruntled expression confirmed his statement. "This is so _not_ fair," Zoe protested hotly.

"I know," Jack nodded sympathetically. "Life generally isn't."

Gulping down the last of his coffee, Jack quickly stood up and deposited his coffee mug and cereal bowl in the sink. He'd stumped her for now, but if he didn't leave soon she'd start coming up with reasons why he should make an exception and let her go to the concert anyway. "Well, I better get to work before all the good criminals are taken. And _you_ have to get to school."

Zoe sputtered, "Wait, but…"

"Have a good day, Zoe," Jack called out as he scooped up his jacket and headed out the door. "You too, Sarah," he added just before the door shut behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning," a neutral voice commented as Jack walked into the sheriff's office.

Jack hung his head in defeat. "I'm only five minutes late, Jo." He'd stopped to talk to Henry, but Jack had learned from experience that explaining to his deputy why he was late only made things worse.

"I didn't say anything," she calmly replied. Her feet were propped up on her desk as she thumbed through the latest issue of _Guns and Ammo_. She looked like she'd been there for hours already, and it wouldn't surprise him if she had.

Jack glanced over at her smug expression and sighed. "You're the only person I know who can pack that much commentary into a few simple words."

Jo's grin got bigger, but all she said was, "I'm very efficient." Under her breath she added, "Maybe that's why I don't have trouble reporting to duty on time."

"Ah ha!" Jack shouted, pouncing on the first openly critical thing she had said.

Jo's eyes went wide in a show of innocence. "What? Did I say anything about _you_?"

"Well," he sputtered, "not exactly, no, but…"

Abruptly, Jo got up from her desk. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She picked up her keys and began shrugging on her jacket.

Jack shifted his weight and cleared his throat, hoping there was someway to get out of this conversation with his dignity intact. Giving in to the inevitable, he asked, "Where are you going?"

Jo paused to brush a nonexistent piece of lint off her shoulder before explaining, "Beverly called to report a suspicious character in the woods behind her property. Of course, you'd know that if you'd been here when the call came in." She coolly raised one eyebrow, challenging him to come up with a comeback to that.

Jack groaned, "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

Jo graced him with a sympathetic smile and a pat on his shoulder before breezing out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning, Sheriff. Nice of you to join us," a deep, disapproving voice called out from overhead.

Jack shook his head, "Nope, sorry. Jo's got you beat. Don't feel bad, 'cause the criticism is definitely there. She's just puts more finesse into than you do."

"Am I supposed to have any idea what you're talking about?" Stark asked as he descended the stairs, pausing to review a data pad that an underling handed to him before continuing down the staircase. Jack crossed his arms and waited impatiently. Stark never just walked into a room. He always had to make an entrance, like a king gracing the public with his presence. Jack wasn't exactly sure how Stark did it, but he was sure he'd come off like an idiot if he ever tried to copy it.

A soft ding announced the arrival of the elevator. The doors slid open to reveal Allison, who gave Jack a small smile before stepping off the elevator and crossing over to where he stood. "Carter," she nodded in greeting.

"Hey, Allison," he replied with a smile. She wore a brown suit with a hint of white lace underneath that was probably just a shirt but looked enough like lingerie for him to briefly contemplate the possibility.

"Would you two like a moment alone?" Stark asked as he joined them. Jack realized he'd been staring and quickly shifted his gaze away from Allison. "Okay, Stark, what did you call us down here for?" Jack noticed that Allison, who'd arrived after him, didn't get any attitude from Stark about how long it took her to get there.

Stark turned and headed down a hallway without a backward glance, assuming the others would follow. Jack gestured for Allison to go ahead and then quickly fell into step behind her. As they walked, Stark launched into an explanation of their latest crisis and Jack automatically began filtering out the techno babble and verbal posturing until he was left with the crux of the problem.

Stark's voice lowered and softened as made a personal aside to Allison, "Listen, Allie, I won't be able to make it to Kevin's…"

She put a hand on his arm to cut him off, gently but firmly, "It's no problem. Really, don't worry about it."

Stark opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, then stopped and simply gave her a grateful nod. Returning his attention to the matter at hand, he gestured for Fargo to take over the explanation.

Allison leaned back and whispered to Jack, "That goes for you too, Carter. If you're too busy, I'll understand."

Jack glanced over at Stark, the Nobel Prize-winning director of Global, and almost felt sorry for the guy. Just before sending Jack back to restore the original timeline, Stark had told him, "Everyone deserves a second chance." The implication had been clear. Starting over with the original timeline meant Stark had a second chance to win Allison back. But that was the tricky thing about a second chance. If you didn't stop to appreciate it, that second chance could whiz right by.

"Kevin's piano recital?" Jack asked. "Wouldn't miss it." Allison's son was usually lost in his own autistic world, but lately he'd been showing an affinity for music. It was good to see the kid enjoying something other than math, and it wasn't hard to find the time.

Allison glanced back and gave Jack a slow smile before refocusing her attention on what Fargo was saying.

They were facing imminent disaster (again) but Jack couldn't wipe the grin off his face. At least not until something Fargo was saying about irradiated uranium isotopes started to sound familiar. "A death ray!" Jack exclaimed, torn between fear and exasperation. "You guys built another one?"


End file.
